Where is your CT before class begins? What is he or she doing? Using the clock on the wall, determine when your CT establishes order and begins class. How did she/he start their lesson? How is homework from the previous night reviewed/collected/assessed? How does your CT engage students during the opening of the lesson?
I observed Ms. Valentine at Central Falls High School. For the first period of the day (Honors Bio), Ms. V was at the front of the classroom greeting students as they came into the classroom. She said hello and asked a few of them questions. She was also talking to me about the classes (this was my first visit) so I am not sure how accurate this observation is. After the bell rang she started to get her items together as the students chatted for a few minutes. As students still continued to enter the classroom after the bell she asked them why they were late and then wrote down their names for restitution (detention) after school. She then wrote the daily BOB on the board which was to analyze a graph she was handing out and to write down things they could learn from the graph. She engaged the students by explaining how as a group they had strengths in making graphs but needed more work on analyzing grapha and that they would be working more on this. After the discussion on the NEcap and where graphs will be on the test, students got to work on the BOB. There was no homework to collect but classwork was collected in a basket. In the beginning of other classes I observed she did a similar pattern: be at the front of the class as students come in, greet them, settle them down and have them do their BOB.
Reflection: I think familiarity with the students is very important and Ms V. showed this by addressing them by name and asking some of them questions about their day or following up on some past conversation. I think that this familiarity creates a feeling of belonging in the classroom and helps students to feel comfortable and welcome. I also plan to have a similar start routine with a BOB/Do now or some kind of entry activity that gets the students thinking. Students in Ms. V’s classes did have some time to chat before class actually got started. I am still thinking about what expectations I would have at entry. Should students immediately get started on their entry activity or can there be a little bit of relaxed banter at the beginning of class? I would like to limit the talking but if students will stay in the hallway until the very last moment to chat instead of getting to my class ahead of time I wonder if allowing some conversations actually gets class started sooner. I liked how Ms. V. engaged the students. She put the BOB activity with the graph in perspective of their knowledge. She complemented their making graph skills but also told them where they needed improvement. The only down side to this conversation was that she related these skills only to the NEcap and not to the real world. I wish she had also talked about why reading graphs is important beyond the test.
I observed Ms. Valentine at Central Falls High School. For the first period of the day (Honors Bio), Ms. V was at the front of the classroom greeting students as they came into the classroom. She said hello and asked a few of them questions. She was also talking to me about the classes (this was my first visit) so I am not sure how accurate this observation is. After the bell rang she started to get her items together as the students chatted for a few minutes. As students still continued to enter the classroom after the bell she asked them why they were late and then wrote down their names for restitution (detention) after school. She then wrote the daily BOB on the board which was to analyze a graph she was handing out and to write down things they could learn from the graph. She engaged the students by explaining how as a group they had strengths in making graphs but needed more work on analyzing grapha and that they would be working more on this. After the discussion on the NEcap and where graphs will be on the test, students got to work on the BOB. There was no homework to collect but classwork was collected in a basket. In the beginning of other classes I observed she did a similar pattern: be at the front of the class as students come in, greet them, settle them down and have them do their BOB.
Reflection: I think familiarity with the students is very important and Ms V. showed this by addressing them by name and asking some of them questions about their day or following up on some past conversation. I think that this familiarity creates a feeling of belonging in the classroom and helps students to feel comfortable and welcome. I also plan to have a similar start routine with a BOB/Do now or some kind of entry activity that gets the students thinking. Students in Ms. V’s classes did have some time to chat before class actually got started. I am still thinking about what expectations I would have at entry. Should students immediately get started on their entry activity or can there be a little bit of relaxed banter at the beginning of class? I would like to limit the talking but if students will stay in the hallway until the very last moment to chat instead of getting to my class ahead of time I wonder if allowing some conversations actually gets class started sooner. I liked how Ms. V. engaged the students. She put the BOB activity with the graph in perspective of their knowledge. She complemented their making graph skills but also told them where they needed improvement. The only down side to this conversation was that she related these skills only to the NEcap and not to the real world. I wish she had also talked about why reading graphs is important beyond the test.